


Act 15: Stuck in the Heat

by writerx75



Series: Stuck [18]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, Fingerfucking, Fluff, Kissing, Language, M/M, Roleplay, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 20:50:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4639752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerx75/pseuds/writerx75
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the air conditioning in Ichigo's family's house goes dead, he and Renji are called upon to wait for the repairers.  In the meantime, they investigate his old room, his old bed, and questions about who he used to think about in those days...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Act 15: Stuck in the Heat

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, All! We're back to less plot and more smut this time, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, references to past Acts in this one, so as always, it's recommended to read these stories in sequence.
> 
> Big thanks to my awesome editor-in-chief, [gwoman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwoman/pseuds/gwoman), as always!
> 
> Note: This series was written before/during the Winter War arc, and I set this story at some vague point in the future when (I assumed) things have gone back (more or less) to normal. Canon continues to be violated, and will be for the remainder of these stories. : )
> 
> Disclaimers: I don't own these characters and don't make any money for these writings; I'm just creating these stories to entertain myself and (hopefully) you.
> 
> The people in this story are fictional, and so you might see them doing things that aren't strictly safe from a sexual standpoint. You are a real person, so please be safe when you play! If you want more information about how that all works, please look [here](http://www.scarleteen.com/article/sexuality/safe_sound_sexy_a_safer_sex_how_to) or here...or there are plenty of other sites with good info on the web, too, so check them out and be safe.
> 
> Oh, yes, one more thing. All of the people depicted (or referred to) in sexual situations in my stories are intended and considered to be by the author of the legal age of consent in any jurisdiction, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from. OK?

_Fuck, it's hot._ Renji sighed as he balanced the now-lukewarm glass of soda on his chest that Ichigo had grumpily handed to him not twenty minutes ago, filled with ice. He went to take a sip but thought better of it and reached out so that he could put it on the nearby desk instead. Renji glanced up at Ichigo, who was leaning over him and wrestling with the window over the bed, before he dropped his head back on the pillow. The window was only open about halfway and Ichigo was cursing as he tried to force it to open wider.

Hell, Renji certainly couldn't blame his lover for being irritable. Just about everyone seemed out of sorts these days and between school and the unpredictable arrancar attacks, the younger man had more reason for it than most. To top it off, the last time they'd seen each other had been almost two months ago now, the day Ichigo had come back to the living world following the time they'd been stuck in the Fourth Division. They'd been let out a couple days after Ichigo awoke, but Unohana-taicho had forbidden the younger man to go back to the living world for another two days after that, saying that he needed more rest before he could leave. The two of them had made the best they could of the situation at Renji's place, but both had been tired enough that most of the time had been spent just sleeping, limbs entwined.

Renji had been able to get word to Ichigo that he was coming to the living world yesterday, but then hadn't been able to get away until late. So, when he'd gotten to Ichigo's place very early this morning, he'd found the younger man still awake and pissed off. Fortunately Ichigo hadn't remained angry for long, but because it had been too long since the last time they'd been together, they’d stayed up much later than they should have, unable to keep their hands off each other.

He found he could barely remember Ichigo leaving for class that morning, just a fuzzy mental picture of his lover disappearing down the hall to the front door. Renji had still been sleeping when Ichigo got back home around lunchtime, and the younger man was pissed off again.

“I've got to go out to the house because the air conditioning's broken, Yuzu and Karin are in school today, my dad's working, and they need someone to wait for the person they send for repairs,” Ichigo had told him, adding a few choice curse words at the end. ”My dad was thrilled that he knew my class schedule because he said he 'knew I was free'. Of course, when I told him _you_ were here, he said that I should bring you along. So, come on. We're going out there.”

Renji could barely remember groaning and rolling over, on the verge of telling Ichigo to go without him when his lover spoke again. “We can get taiyaki on the way,” he said, and the redhead could almost _hear_ the smirk in his voice.

Turning over again to sleepily glare at Ichigo, Renji sighed. “You drive a hard bargain. Can I at least take a shower first?”

Ichigo shook his head. “We don't have time and it's hot enough outside that there's no point anyway. Besides, you already took one last night.”

“Yeah, but it was more like two with as much time as we spent in there,” Renji said as he got out of bed finally and smirked while he watched Ichigo turn away with a blush as he stretched his naked body.

“Don't remind me about that right now, because we don't have any time to do anything about it,” Ichigo mumbled, still trying not to look. “And put some clothes on.”

Unfortunately, Ichigo had been right about the weather. The heat had been stunning even though it wasn't officially summer for a few weeks yet. By the time they reached the Kurosaki house, Renji was feeling as though the world around him was somewhat unreal, probably due to the heat and the lack of sleep, but somehow it caused him to notice everything.

_Like right now_ he mused as he sat up on his elbows a bit, watching Ichigo continue to struggle with the window. The younger man had insisted on opening up all of them in the house once they'd arrived, and Renji had been silently following him around as he did. Ichigo's old room was their last stop and Renji hadn't been able to resist flopping on the bed when they got there, earning him a scowl from his lover.

“You could help me, you know,” Ichigo growled, glaring.

“Nah. It looks like you've got it all covered,” Renji replied with a grin as he lay back in the bed.

Ichigo had grunted in annoyance and ignored him as the struggle with the window escalated, which gave Renji plenty of opportunity to notice what was in front of him. He couldn't help but look at the damp hair at the nape of Ichigo's neck and then down that lean body to where the smaller man's shirt had come untucked from his pants. As Renji watched, a bead of sweat rolled down Ichigo's spine to where it was hidden underneath the waistband of his jeans. Automatically trying to continue to follow with his eyes, the redhead's gaze lingered on Ichigo's ass, and as he lay back in bed, trying not to let his mind go where it was going, he couldn't help but focus in on the grunts the younger man was making as he attempted to force the window all the way open.

Renji rolled his eyes at himself as he felt his heart start to beat faster and his breathing pick up. _I feel like a fucking teenager again around him_ the redhead thought and then narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room a little, remembering where he was. He smiled wickedly at the ceiling as Ichigo finally gave up on the window and sat on the edge of the bed to catch his breath.

Shooting a sly grin at his lover Renji asked, “Is this the same bed that was here when you lived in this room?”

Ichigo, still distracted from his battle with the window, answered off-handedly. “Yeah, they left everything in here pretty much the same even after I got my own place. Not much reason to change it, I guess, since the girls wanted to keep on sharing a room and leave this for a guest room.”

“So tell me, who did you think about back then when you were squirming and panting in this bed getting yourself off?” Renji had raised himself up on his elbows so that he could watch Ichigo’s reaction, and he wasn’t disappointed. The redhead could see the younger man’s face go red, even as he turned away, watched the color radiate down his neck a little.

“Fuck, Renji, what the hell would you want to know that for?” Ichigo asked, still turned in the other direction. Renji's grin was growing because the redhead could hear that Ichigo was trying hard to keep his tone of voice casual, but the fact that he still wouldn’t turn to meet Renji's eye spoke much louder than the tone of his voice.

“Of course I’d want to know. I can just see you in here in the dark with your hand on your cock, writhing in your bed, your breath catching the way it does when you jerk yourself off. So who was it, anyway? One of those guys you hung out with in school, or maybe you thought about girls back then?”

Renji could hear his voice getting lower and huskier, sensed his own breathing pick up, and though he felt a little guilty for asking, he found that by now he was _really_ curious. Ichigo swore then and finally turned back to face Renji, still lightly flushed but with a defiant look on his face now.

“I tried not to, you know? I mean, with everything that was going on at the time – the war, then trying to get into college after having missed so much school – fuck, I didn’t have much time.” He sighed and looked down at the floor, then continued. “And no, even though I felt like I should, I never really thought about girls that way. Since I figured at the time that’s not how I was supposed to be, I just tried to avoid the whole thing altogether.”

The redhead knew he should probably just leave it alone, but he just couldn't stop himself from asking more questions. He felt like he _had_ to know. “You’ve always liked guys, then?”

Ichigo shrugged and then leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “As long as I can remember.”

The simple, obviously honest answer surprised Renji a little. He figured that it wouldn’t be something Ichigo would normally admit so plainly, but between the worn-out state they both shared and the crushing heat it seemed his lover was a bit less guarded than normal. Renji found his mind moving in a different direction now, though, and he turned on his side so he could look Ichigo in the face again.

“Hey, you know then, maybe if I’d figured out sooner-“ Renji started, only to be cut off by Ichigo’s snort of laughter.

“Forget about it. I was so freaked out about the idea during that time I probably would have lost it completely. You can be thankful that being in college for a couple years helped me to start feeling more comfortable with how I am, or this whole thing probably never would have gotten off the ground.”

Ichigo grinned slyly at Renji now, and of course the redhead knew what he meant. _This whole thing between us that we’ve never really been able to name_ , Renji thought, and felt a grin start to appear on his own face in response to his lover’s.

“Oh, really?” Renji found himself asking. “So you think that if I somehow found out you might be interested after we'd known each other a couple years and came by to seduce you that there's no way I could have done it? I bet you're wrong.”

Renji slowly smiled at Ichigo, who shook his head in response. “No way, Renji; I was in way too much denial then.”

“So what are you willing to bet?” the redhead asked, his smile widening as his gaze lazily swept up and down the younger man's frame. “I want more taiyaki if I win. I'm still hungry.”

“You're always hungry,” Ichigo said, shaking his head. “If I win, you've got to do all my dishes.”

“I don't even know how you could pile them up so badly, you slob,” Renji said with a laugh. “I think all the ones you own are dirty. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm not going to lose.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes but couldn't help returning the laugh. “I don't even know how we're going to figure out who would win, anyway, so it's just talk.”

Renji shook his head. “No, there's a way. Look, you've been cranky and scowling all day, like you always used to be back when we met. We're right here in your old room, so you just be your old self, and I'll show up and try to get you into bed with me.”

He tried not to laugh as Ichigo's eyes went wide. “No way, Renji. That's just...I don't know, wrong. My dad could come over from the clinic, or what if one of my sisters came home from school early-”

“You weren't worried about that when you sucked me off in the back garden on Christmas. I think you just know you're going to lose the bet, right?” Renji had quickly moved into a sitting position and his face was very close to Ichigo's now. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched the younger man's eyes linger on his lips.

“I'm not,” Ichigo growled and then slid off the bed to approach the desk.

“Good,” Renji replied, suddenly businesslike as he pushed off of the bed to stand. “Help me put my gigai in the closet then.”

After a good deal of struggling they finally managed it. “I don't even understand why we're doing this,” Ichigo complained at one point.

“Because I never came over to your house in a gigai in those days,” Renji answered with a grin. “OK, so sit at the desk and pretend you're studying or something and I'll come in the window.”

“I can't believe I agreed to this,” Ichigo grumbled, but moved to sit at his desk nonetheless.

Renji climbed out and balanced himself on the ledge beside Ichigo's window, watching until Ichigo removed his face from his hands, randomly picked a book from the volumes sitting on the desk and opened it. After a few moments of silence, Renji made his way back into the window.

“Hey, Ichigo,” he said, standing on his lover's bed the way he used to before Ichigo yelled at him one too many times to cut it out.

He had to stop himself from smirking as the younger man whipped around and nearly growled at him. “Damn it, Renji, get the hell off my bed. What are you doing here, anyway?”

Ichigo sounded like he'd really stoked his annoyance up as he waited, and Renji couldn't help but smile. Fuck, Ichigo always looked so sexy when he got worked up like this; the redhead wondered why he hadn't noticed it years earlier. Trying to look serious instead of smirking was difficult, but Renji managed it somehow.

“Well, Ichigo, I came over here because I heard something disturbing.” He was quiet for a moment, watching the look on the younger man's face change from annoyed to confused to curious, and then Renji made his move. “I heard that you've never been kissed.”

“What?!” Ichigo's face was red now as he jumped out of the chair, and it wasn't all from anger. “Who the hell told you that?”

“Oh, so it is true,” Renji continued, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, no, I, uh,” Ichigo said, finally trailing off while scowling and looking a little confused all at the same time. “What the hell business is it of yours, anyway?”

Renji looked at Ichigo's attempt to try to be intimidating and smirked. “Well, actually, I came over here because I thought you could probably use some help, but if you're not interested-”

“Interested in what?” Ichigo broke in, raising his voice. He was still trying to scowl menacingly, but Renji had noticed the flickering glances the younger man kept giving his lips.

“Learning something,” Renji said as he backed Ichigo up to the nearest wall and leaned in so that the two of them were just a breath apart. Ichigo looked as if he wasn't able to decide whether he should lean closer in or try to struggle to get away. Renji waited a moment longer and let out a teasing breath of air over Ichigo's lips before he moved back. Ichigo moved to follow the redhead at first, then caught himself and started to scowl again.

“Learning something from you?” Ichigo was trying to keep a scornful tone in his voice, but Renji was sure it all came out a bit lower and huskier than he'd intended, because he noticed the younger man's blush flare after he'd said it. “Look, if you're trying to say-”

“I'm not trying to _say_ anything other than the obvious fact that you could probably use some help, in case you actually find someone you want to kiss,” Renji replied, breaking into Ichigo's attempt at an angry retort. “It's not like I'm going to tell anyone or anything.”

He crossed over and dropped the blinds on the blazing sunlight coming in the window, and suddenly the room was a lot cooler and darker. Renji could see Ichigo's Adam's apple bob as the younger man swallowed, and before he knew it, they were close again, as close as he could get to Ichigo without pressing up against him. Ichigo appeared to be fighting the urge to lean forward, and finally turned his gaze up to Renji's.

“All right, I guess, as long as no one finds out,” he said in a hushed and hesitant voice. Renji couldn't help the wicked grin that split his face.

“Good,” he said, closing the little space between them to pin Ichigo to the wall with his upper body.

Although Renji had been glad years ago when Ichigo had made the first move, mostly because he didn't think he would have ever figured out that the younger man had a thing for him otherwise, he had to admit that he was disappointed in some ways, too. A first kiss was something that he thought should be special, and although their first kiss, with a pretty drunk Ichigo suddenly in his lap pressing their lips together, had definitely been unique, Renji had always wished that he could have somehow had the insight to be the one to make the first move. So, his grin was actually for more than one reason, since now he sort of had an opportunity to do it over.

He could tell by the way that Ichigo surged forwards a little that he expected Renji to give him one of the hard, deep kisses that they both loved, but he held back for the moment. Instead, he leaned his head forward gently, bringing their lips together softly to give his lover a kiss that could barely be felt. He pulled back a moment later to lick his lips and look at Ichigo's face – intent, eyes closed – before he moved their lips together again. This kiss had more pressure than the last but was still slow and gentle, languid until he closed his mouth around Ichigo's lower lip and sucked on it. As Ichigo's mouth opened when he gasped, Renji pulled back a little to let his tongue glide along Ichigo's lip, quick and light enough to set off all of the younger man's nerve endings. The not-quite-suppressed moan Ichigo let out was followed by a low growl in Renji's throat.

When they'd started to kiss, the redhead hadn't done anything but push their bodies together, but he could feel Ichigo's arms around him now, pulling them that much closer. Renji just breathed across Ichigo's lips for a moment and watched as the younger man opened them a bit in anticipation. He had to close his own eyes before their mouths touched again, and Renji could hear his own breath pick up as they started to kiss.

Renji's kiss was hungrier now, and although he couldn't help it altogether, he did manage to hold back enough so that he wasn't completely ravaging Ichigo's mouth, instead just using the quick strokes of his tongue that he knew drove the younger man crazy in order to explore everywhere. Just the taste of Ichigo was heating Renji's blood up enough that he wanted to keep going until they were both dizzy, but he remembered to hold himself back somewhat, knowing that he wouldn't have done that for someone's first kiss. Ichigo was panting for breath as Renji drew his head back, however, and he couldn't help but grin in response. His smile faded a moment later as Ichigo's eyes opened again and he saw that dark, sexy look in them. Casting his mind about for a second as he tried to remember what he was doing exactly (other than trying to convince Ichigo that it was time to have sex again), Renji finally recalled.

A smirk bloomed on his face as he asked Ichigo, “So, do you think you picked up anything?”

Renji secretly thought the smirk was a bit of a stretch while he was still trying to get his own breath back, but Ichigo must not have thought so since he scowled in response. “Yeah, I think I've got it. No problem.”

“Oh, really?” Renji asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Show me what you learned.”

Ichigo glared at him for a moment and then Renji found his own back against the wall as the smaller man switched their positions and pressed their lips together. Renji immediately felt Ichigo's tongue run gently along the seam of his lips, and sensed the younger man breathe in as he exhaled when he opened his mouth. The redhead couldn't help but shiver as Ichigo made a noise in the back of his throat in response, and then the younger man’s tongue was everywhere, teasing, tasting, and sliding alongside Renji's. Ichigo didn't let go until they were both panting, and Renji could feel the younger man lean against him, trying to catch his breath.

He smirked again as he finally reached out to grab onto Ichigo, wrapping his arms around the other man's waist and pulling the two of them together. “You're hard,” he murmured into Ichigo's ear, relishing the strangled noise Ichigo made as Renji ground their cocks together.

“So...so are you,” Ichigo mumbled, his tongue tripping over his words.

Renji chuckled. “I'll tell you what, Ichigo. I figure if you haven't been kissed you haven't had sex either, so I'll take pity on you and show you.”

Ichigo's face was amazing to see at that moment, and Renji watched as his scowl changed to amazement to skepticism to incredulity and through a number of other expressions before he finally cleared his throat to say in a quiet voice, almost as if afraid of being overheard, “Uh, yeah. OK.”

Renji was moving to the bed and dragging Ichigo with him almost as soon as the younger man had responded. To his surprise, Ichigo had started kissing him again, which made him fumble with the fastenings on Ichigo's clothes, trying to get them off. When he pulled back for air a moment later, Renji was also surprised to find himself half out of his own clothes and Ichigo working on getting his sash untied.

Ichigo pulled away in embarrassment as he noticed Renji watching him, but the redhead grabbed his lover’s hands and put them back where they'd been. “Don't stop now,” Renji said as he moved in for another kiss, finally getting Ichigo's zipper free and starting to ease the smaller man’s pants down.

They had somehow both stumbled out of their clothes and into bed when Renji flipped Ichigo onto his back, straddling the younger man as he reached a hand down towards the floor, searching for something he'd left nearby a while ago. “Just relax,” he told Ichigo as his hand finally encountered the bottle he'd been looking for, “I'll take care of everything.”

Renji looked down as he slicked his hand up and his heart seemed to stutter as he saw the look on Ichigo's face, somehow full of anxiety and trust and curiosity and this intensity that was all _Ichigo_ , and completely focused on him. He couldn't help leaning in for another kiss at the same time as he reached behind himself, and the little exhale he gave as his first finger slid home was something that Ichigo eagerly breathed in. This kiss was more familiar for them, wilder and harder and long enough to leave Ichigo moaning and Renji almost breathless, except this time he couldn't help making noises of his own as he worked himself open with his fingers.

Ichigo's eyes looked almost black as Renji looked down into them this time, and they widened even more as the younger man realized what was going on. “Renji, I...” he inarticulately trailed off, chest still heaving from their kiss. “I've got to see you.”

Even though it hadn't been said all that clearly, Renji knew what Ichigo wanted and somehow made his now shaky body do what he wanted. Pushing off the bed with the arm he'd been bracing himself over Ichigo with, Renji knelt over his lover now, letting the younger man watch while he finger-fucked himself.

Renji felt his guts tighten as he watched Ichigo, saw the younger man's eyes darken even further, watched his lover's cock twitch and heard the low moan. He couldn't help but keep going as he watched Ichigo start to pant and felt his lover's hands grab onto his thighs so tightly it was almost painful.

“Fuck, Renji, you...you,” Ichigo's voice was hoarse, and he stopped to swallow and lick his lips. “You've got to just…come here.”

“And do what, Ichi? What is it that you want?” Renji could hear that his own voice was so low and rough that he knew he was barely in any better shape than Ichigo.

And as he chanced another look at the smaller man, Renji felt his heart beats trip over themselves again. He could see the sweat filming over Ichigo's skin, the same as it was on his own, but the sight of his lover's long, lean muscles shining and tautly laid out all for him made him feel like suddenly there wasn't enough air in the world. But, when their eyes met it felt as if someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart, and it was the best pain in the world because Renji knew, just from looking at the honesty and desire and desperation _for him_ in those eyes, that he would have done this a million times over even if he only ended up where he was now once. His breath caught in his chest and he could only listen as Ichigo continued.

“You. I want you, you big idiot,” the younger man ground out.

Renji felt he didn't have any more words that could contain what was going on or how he felt, so he just held Ichigo's eyes for one more moment and then reached out to slick his lover's cock up. Ichigo gasped once as Renji pressed himself downwards, throwing his head back as he slowly took Ichigo in. They were both panting for breath as Renji paused, feeling electric sensation flooding through his body and listening to his heart thudding distantly in his chest. It was all too much and so amazing that he felt like it might carry him away until he heard Ichigo's voice, low and strained.

“You feel...good, Ren. So good.”

As he looked down, he could feel the fire in his blood jump crazily higher as he saw the deep blush across Ichigo's cheeks and his hazy, lust-darkened eyes. He knew he'd held back from touching Ichigo the way he usually did, trying not to freak out the young man he used to be, but now Renji felt like he had to feel his lover in his arms. So, as he started to move his hips, he scooped Ichigo up in his arms, forcing the younger man to sit up. Renji swallowed the cry Ichigo made as they started to kiss again, slow and lingering.

It was in deep contrast to the way both of their hips were moving, however. The redhead tried to slow down, wanting the whole thing to last, but it simply felt too amazing for him to want to go slower. Having a hard time believing that he'd gotten so turned on mostly just by kissing Ichigo, he opened his eyes to see that he wasn't the only one. Ichigo's hips were moving just as fast as his own, now fucking him hard on each down stroke, and his lover's eyes were jammed shut, groans and tiny curses escaping from Ichigo's lips.

“Fuck, you feel good in me,” Renji breathed against Ichigo's ear, causing him to let out a sharp, desperate sound.

“Renji, I need you to come, please,” Ichigo panted, moaning again he thrust deep into the redhead again.

Breath hitching as he answered, Renji murmured, “Touch me, Ichi. If I feel your hand on my cock, I _will_ come.”

He grunted a moment later as he felt his lover grab him roughly, and then Renji groaned as Ichigo started jerking him off. _Fuck, it's just right_ , he found himself thinking as he threw his head back and Ichigo leaned in to bite and suck at his neck. Renji was shaking now, but he kept fucking himself on Ichigo's cock, felt his lover's hips buck up to meet his as Ichigo's hand kept moving over his own cock, urging him on. For some reason, even though the fire in his veins was so high he felt like he could hardly breathe, Renji was stuck on the pinnacle, and then he heard Ichigo's voice.

“Fuck, Renji...I can't...fuck, I'm coming,” Ichigo muttered, roughly, desperately before his eyes snapped shut and Renji could feel his hips bucking wildly.

“That's it, Ichigo, come in me. I want you to,” Renji panted, catching a glimpse of the look on Ichigo's face.

The expression on Ichigo's face had looked as if he felt so good it almost hurt, but it was the fact that Ichigo's pleasure-darkened eyes had opened a moment later, completely focused on Renji as the younger man's hips thrust a few final times that had sent the redhead over the edge. He was shivering as he came back to himself sometime later, realizing that he was still clutching Ichigo to him.

“Hey, get off of me,” Ichigo said after a few seconds of Renji just grinning at him. “You're kind of heavy.”

Renji continued to grin because he could see that Ichigo was trying to scowl, but instead his lover's face was uncooperatively making an answering grin.

“Sure,” he said, relaxing his hold as Ichigo lay back down on the bed. They both made a little noise as he moved off Ichigo entirely, separating the two of them.

“Guess I won the bet,” Renji said as he sat on the edge of the bed, gazing down at Ichigo.

The younger man was still breathing heavily, but it seemed like he'd used up all of his energy otherwise. “You were just taking advantage of the fact that I'm sleep deprived and near to hallucinating,” Ichigo said, briefly opening his eyes to meet Renji's.

He could see Ichigo's eyes soften as their gazes met until the younger man's eyes closed again. “Renji?” Ichigo asked, his eyes still closed. “Could you get the door if the person comes for the air conditioner soon? I've got to sleep for a little while; I'm just so fucking tired.”

“Sure, Ichi, if you answer the question I asked earlier,” Renji said, smirking down at his lover.

Ichigo huffed out the ghost of a laugh. “Do you still think I _didn't_ answer you?” he asked, opening one eye to skewer Renji with a slightly annoyed look.

Renji looked at Ichigo with some confusion for a moment and then breathed in as realization hit him. _He couldn't mean_...but as Renji looked down at Ichigo with a questioning look, he watched in amazement as Ichigo smiled a little and nodded as if to say _yes, dumbass, who did you think it was_ and then closed his eye again.

The redhead felt a crazy surge in his chest afterwards, and struggled to get his breathing back to normal. “Yeah, OK, Ichi, I'll get the door,” the redhead murmured, suddenly unable to feel stupid for leaning to kiss the smaller man's forehead and pull the sheet over him.

Ichigo mumbled something in return, but it already sounded as if he was asleep. Of course, a few minutes later, Renji heard the knock on the front door. Fumbling to get his gigai back on and make his way out of the bedroom, he closed the door carefully behind him before hurrying downstairs.

“All right, all right,” he said loudly as he approached the front door, “I'm right here.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments about what you liked and what you thought could be improved would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!
> 
> -WriterX


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